Is My Dust Tracks on a Road a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition is J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1942, octavo, bound in beige/tan cloth stamped in dark brown on front board and spine, and issued in a pictorial dust jacket
• The first printing is identified by the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page: consistent with Lippincott's practice from the 1920s of stating "First Edition" on firsts (a number row was not added until the mid-1970s), so a genuine first shows the statement and no number line
• Recorded in the standard bibliographies as Blockson 5189, Bruccoli & Clark I:192, and Jordan 323.4
• Note that the 1942 Lippincott text was censored by the publisher; later "restored" editions that reinstate cut chapters are separate later printings, not this first

How J. B. Lippincott Company marked a first edition

• From ~1925: printed 'First Edition' on the copyright page of books deemed important; novels and children's books often NOT so marked.
• Reliably indicated later printings ('Second Printing', 'Third Printing', etc.), so absence of a later-printing notice is a key signal for the unmarked titles.

Full J. B. Lippincott Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US Lippincott 1942 is the true first (English-language original, American author); a later UK edition (Hutchinson) follows and is not the first. US precedes.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings drop the "First Edition" statement. The expanded/restored-text editions (Harper & Row 1984; HarperPerennial reissues with Henry Louis Gates Jr. / Maya Angelou apparatus) are "first thus" traps, not the 1942 first. No common contemporaneous US book-club printing identified.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Dust Tracks on a Road a first edition?

A first edition of Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston (J. B. Lippincott Company) is identified by: The true first edition is J.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US Lippincott 1942 is the true first (English-language original, American author); a later UK edition (Hutchinson) follows and is not the first.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later printings drop the "First Edition" statement. The expanded/restored-text editions (Harper & Row 1984; HarperPerennial reissues with Henry Louis Gates Jr. / Maya Angelou apparatus) are "first thus" traps, not the 1942 first. No common contemporaneous US book-club printing identified.

I have a first edition of Dust Tracks on a Road — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.